A pub company founded by two top cricketers has chosen Staffordshire as the place for their third venue, taking over an iconic restaurant site which closed earlier this year.
The Cat & Wickets Pub Company, founded by Stuart Broad and Harry Gurney, has announced the upcoming opening of The Long Hop in Burton upon Trent.
The new venture will be on the site currently known as The Winery, which ceased trading in February.
The Long Hop is expected to open on Friday, 1 August and bookings have just gone live.
No figure has been put on the cost of the takeover and rebrand and it has not yet been revealed how many jobs will be created by the venture.
However, Stuart, who took 604 test wickets for England before retiring two years ago, said: “This is a really exciting next step for us.
“Burton has such a proud brewing history and strong sense of community, we’re looking forward to becoming part of that and sharing what we do best.”
Managing Director Harry, who played for Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire as well as England, added: “We’ve been on the lookout for the right location for some time, and this site felt like the perfect fit. The team is ready to hit the ground running and we’re buzzing to bring The Long Hop to life.”
Bar and restaurant The Winery had been running for 15 years. It was previously known as The Abbey Inn due to its location at the 11th Century Burton Abbey.
The Cat & Wickets Pub Company was founded in 2016 and has two other restaurants in its portfolio – The Tap & Run in Melton Mowbray and The Griffin Inn in Leicester.
Menus at the gastro pubs boast of using the finest quality seasonal produce through a carefully selected team of suppliers.
Dishes featured include Sunday lunches, Indian spiced lamb shoulder, a double smash burger, lobster and Cornish crab linguine and a 28-day dry aged steak of the day.
The business has said The Long Hop will ‘bring The Cat & Wickets’ signature blend of fantastic food, outstanding drinks, and warm hospitality to Burton, all delivered with a touch of cricketing charm.’
And while changes will be made to the venue, the team is ‘committed to preserving the character of the building as part of its next chapter.’
Guests are encouraged to keep an eye on social media for updates.
